Lyft moves to bring its electric scooters to Nashville

Tennessean Opinion and Engagement Editor David Plazas rides a scooter with a helmet and on the streets of Nashville.
David Plazas, USA TODAY NETWORK — Tennessee

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People ride electric scooters on the John Seigenthaler Pedestrian Bridge on Aug. 31 in Nashville. Lyft is the latest company that wants to get into the scooter game in Music City.(Photo: Shelley Mays/The Tennessean )Buy Photo

Nashville already has Bird and Lime. Now it appears Lyft will be the next company to drop electric dockless scooters in Music City.

Lyft, a popular ride-share company that recently entered the budding scooter industry, has applied with Metro government to begin operating electric scooters in Nashville.

Billy Fields, director of the Metro Licensing Commission, confirmed that Metro attorneys are in the process of reviewing Lyft's application for authorization of 500 electric scooters in Nashville, with plans to increase the number to 1,000. He believes Lyft will be cleared to begin soon.

"We're just making sure all the T's are crossed and the I's are dotted," Fields said. "I think it's very close.

"They could potentially go this week or next week. They could be operating early as Thanksgiving. Will they be? I don't know."

Lyft has applied to bring electric scooters to Nashville, which would multiply the number of dock-less scooters operating in the city.(Photo: Lyft)

Lyft already has scooters in DC, California

Kaitlyn Carl, a spokeswoman for Lyft, declined to discuss the company's application to bring scooters to Nashville.

"At this time, we don’t have anything to share about scooters," she said.

Lyft, known foremost as a ride-hail company, in September launched its scooter operation in Denver. Lyft also has scooters — which features the company's trademark pink and black colors — in Washington, D.C., and Santa Monica, California, according to the company's website.

Since 2016, Lyft has operated a corporate customer service center in downtown Nashville.

Under Metro's scooter permitting pilot program, which the Metro Council approved in Augus, Nashville does not have cap on how many scooters can operate overall.

Nashville caps the number of scooters per company

Individual companies are limited to 1,000 scooters apiece in Nashville. Bird and Lime have both reached their cap, according to Fields, meaning the arrival of Lyft scooters could bring the city's scooter allotment to 3,000.

But Bird and Lime have been such a big hit in Nashville's tourist-rich downtown and surrounding neighborhoods that there's demand for more.

In fact, Fields said he expects other scooter companies to soon apply to Nashville in addition to Lyft.

Riders locate and pay to use the electric scooters with their cellphones.

Metro has struggled to enforce rules for electric scooters ever since Bird first arrived in the spring.

In a legal fight this spring with the company, Metro attorneys cited safety issues and argued Birds represent illegal obstructions of rights-of-way and other public property. Users often leave the scooters on the sidewalks after they're finished with their rides.

The new regulations clarify that riders must ride the scooters on streets in business districts, not sidewalks, but many have continued to use sidewalks anyway.